


All Night Long

by jujus_writing_corner



Category: Real Person Fiction, Youtube RPF
Genre: Also with references to some other fics of mine ;), By and large this is silly nonsense, Drinking, House Party, Karaoke, M/M, Quarantine, There's almost a fight but no one gets hurt, Yancy gets very drunk and acts a fool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25382665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jujus_writing_corner/pseuds/jujus_writing_corner
Summary: Some weeks into quarantine, the egos are practically dying of boredom, no one more so than Illinois. Sounds like the perfect time for one of Ego Inc.'s infamous house parties, in which the egos can finally let loose and blow off steam. Adding in Yancy plus a few too many drinks makes a recipe for a night of drunken shenanigans, and Lio is along for the ride.
Relationships: Other relationships referenced - Relationship, Yancy/Illinois
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	All Night Long

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CharCharRose131](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharCharRose131/gifts).



> I relate to the egos, because quarantine kicked my butt and made me stop writing for like...weeks. But I'm back in it, babey! Starting with this fic for my friend CharCharRose131's birthday! :D It's super late, I know, but I hope it was worth the wait ;w;
> 
> Enjoy!

Ever since the stay-at-home order went into effect in California, Ego Inc. has been quarantined. Dark ordered that no one leave the building, knowing that even one sick ego would quickly spread illness to everyone else. Even if he hadn’t, Dr. Iplier might have physically thrown himself in front of Ego Inc.’s front doors and prevented the others from leaving on his own. It’s kept everyone from getting sick, but cabin fever is quickly setting in.

Wilford is antsy now that he can’t go out on the town, or even film his show. Bim is annoyed for the same reasons, and the Jims are driving him crazy in their efforts to find fun without being able to go out reporting. Yandereplier is bored and half-mad without his normal outlet of killing people every night, and Silver Shepherd is desperately anxious that he can’t help or rescue people anymore. Ed Edgar’s business has screeched to a halt, and Captain Magnum’s ship is similarly docked. The androids are grumpy and full of too much energy (though they can’t get sick, Dark and Dr. Iplier don’t want to risk surface transmission of the virus from them to the others). Even Host, introverted and cooped-up in his library as he likes to be, is sour without his daily walks outside the building. Even Dr. Iplier, despite his support of the quarantine, is restless without patients to help. Nearly everyone in the building is going stir-crazy, but no one more so than Illinois.

Lio thrives off exploration, off new places, off action, adventure, travel. As big as Ego Inc. is, it feels like a sardine can compared to the wide world out there. A wide world that, right now, is much less busier than it used to be, a world ripe for rediscovery. Lio practically itches with the need to get out of the house and go _somewhere,_ even if it’s only the corner store down the road or the hiking trail just outside the city he’s trekked a hundred times. He feels like he’ll go insane if he can’t get _outside,_ just once, just for a week or a day or an hour. He’s already tried to reason with Dr. Iplier:

“Look, I’ll just go somewhere the virus hasn’t gotten to, problem solved!”

“Oh, sure, I bet Antarctica is lovely this time of year. But let’s pretend there’s other places you could go: How would you get there, hm? Will you just teleport? Because if Dark or Wilford won’t help you – and I guarantee they won’t – you’ll have to take a plane or a boat, and probably also a car or a bus. How do you expect to travel without going through infected areas?”

“But–”

“And with how fast this thing spreads, there’s no guarantee that the “safe place” you found will still _be_ safe by the time you get there!”

“Doc–”

“Also, might I remind you that as a young, healthy individual, it is your responsibility to self-quarantine so as to not infect others! Even if you get sick and heal up fine, you could spread it to people at risk! To older people, or immunocompromised people, or people with other preexisting health conditions! Not to mention you’re guaranteed to get someone else in this building sick when you come back!!”

“Ple–”

 _“No!!_ Get out of my office and count yourself lucky that I’m not telling Dark about this conversation. But I absolutely _will_ if I hear one more peep out of you about leaving this building. Do you understand?”

“I–”

_“Do you understand?”_

“…Yes, Dr. Iplier.”

“Good. Now go, and don’t come back until you actually need me.”

That did the opposite of work.

Lio knows better than to go to Dark for permission on this, or to ask Wilford for help getting him somewhere. Dr. Iplier was right, Lio has no hope of leaving this building until this whole thing blows over – however long _that_ will take. So he lies on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Beside him is another person, gently tossing a hacky-sack up to the ceiling with one hand, catching it, and tossing it again as he hums a show tune to himself: Yancy.

The one person who _isn’t_ going insane from being stuck in Ego Inc.

Lio supposes it makes sense. Yancy’s used to monotony, to boredom, to routine and enclosure and imprisonment. Ego Inc. always felt big enough for him, and he only ever went out to be with friends who wanted to go out – aside from that time he ran away, but Lio would rather not think about that. But especially since then, Yancy has been content to stay at home. Quarantine didn’t alter his daily routine much at all…though he now spends a good portion of his day placating his stir-crazy…boyfriend? Are they there yet? Lio doesn’t much feel like thinking about that, either.

“How are you not so _bored?”_ Lio groans, turning his head to look at Yancy. The way they’re lying on the floor of Yancy’s bedroom puts their heads right beside each other, and Lio can see Yancy’s face in profile as he laughs and turns to look at Lio in turn.

“C’mon, Noisy, it’s fun to chill out sometimes!” He tosses his hacky-sack again without looking at it as it flies up to the ceiling. “No more hustle and bustle, just relaxin’.” He’s still looking at Lio when the hacky-sack falls back down and lands on his chest, making him grunt. Lio laughs at Yancy’s surprised expression, and laughs more when it becomes a pout.

“Easy for you to say, sweetheart,” Lio says, still chuckling, “You’re used to chilling out. You _enjoy_ chilling out. But I have to be active! I have to be out there, exploring ruins and dodging traps and discovering treasure!” He looks wistfully up at the ceiling. “Not stuck here doing nothing for days on end.”

Yancy chuckles at Lio’s melodrama, and Lio feels him kiss his cheek.

“There’s benefits to doing nothing,” Yancy tells him, “And youse ain’t got much choice either, doll. Doc’s gonna wring your neck if you pester him about leaving again.”

“Don’t remind me,” Lio grumbles. But he turns to look at Yancy again, and is warmed by his smile and brown, laughter-filled eyes. He can’t help but smile back. “I couldn’t convince you to sneak out with me and go somewhere, huh? We could get Mags in on it, go to his ship, sail around…once we’re on the water we’re in the clear, right? We won’t get sick, and it’ll be just like old times, but better.” He reaches around and takes Yancy’s hand. “Can you imagine us lying together just like this, on the deck of Mags’s ship? It’ll be night, the water will be calm, the moon and stars will be out, and it’ll feel like there’s no one in the world but us…”

“Hold your horses, loverboy,” Yancy interjects. He holds up his free arm, wiggling it a little. “Youse forgetting about the tracker Dark made me get a while back. We’d be busted before we even make it to the ship.”

“Oh, right.” Lio did forget. It’s easy to, when it comes up so little, and when it’s attached to an experience the pair of them would rather forget. But it did bring them together, at least. Without that experience, they wouldn’t be lying beside each other now.

“All that would be nice…” Yancy admits, leaning forward to kiss Lio again, this time on his lips, slow and languid. “…But I think I got a better idea for getting rid of boredom.”

“Do you?” Lio asks playfully, “What might that be?”

Before Yancy can answer, there’s a rapping knock at his bedroom door.

“Hey, Yancy, I got news! You in there?”

“Where else would I be?” Yancy replies, letting go of Lio’s hand to sit up. Lio follows suit, holding back a laugh at Yancy’s annoyed, disappointed pout at being interrupted.

Bim opens the door and steps in, giving the pair on the floor an odd look before relaying his message.

“There’s gonna be a party tonight!” He puffs up his chest with pride. “It’s being thrown by yours truly…and Wil, I guess. There’s gonna be food, karaoke, booze–”

“And Dark’s allowing it?” Lio scoffs. It didn’t take him very long as a new ego to learn how much Dark hates disorder, and Lio can’t imagine anything more chaotic than a party at Ego Inc.

“As a matter of fact, he is,” Bim sniffs, “He can see how fed up this quarantine is making us, he’s probably hoping this party will help us blow off some steam. He’ll be there, for the record. To make sure nobody gets hurt.”

“Ain’t that a bit like throwing an orgy with a nun in the room?” Yancy quips, and Bim and Lio both snort.

“You’d think,” Bim says, “But really, we’ve had parties like this before. Dark doesn’t care what we do so long as we don’t get naked or start stabbing each other. Both of which have happened.” He pauses. “Several times.”

“Who got stabbed??” Lio asks.

“Who got _naked???”_ Yancy adds.

“Wilford, mostly, on both counts,” Bim says, shuddering a little at the memories. “That’s beside the point. The point is, the party’s tonight, in the third floor common room, and you’re both invited. I mean, so is everyone, obviously. But it’s not something we do every day, and you guys shouldn’t miss your first Ego Inc. party.” He winks. “See you both tonight!”

Bim leaves then, walking down the hall to, presumably, extend an invitation to Magnum as well.

“Huh.” Lio says with a blink. “A party, huh?”

“Sounds a little wild for me,” Yancy mumbles, getting up to close his bedroom door.

“What, you mean Happy Trails never had any parties?” Lio asks, standing as well. He grins. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Oh, we had parties, all right,” Yancy says, “There was more than enough stabbing and nudity to last a lifetime, and I already know tonight’s party will have twice as much of that as Happy Trails’s parties ever did.”

“Well, I’m going,” Lio says, stretching, “I could use something to do. Besides, maybe it’ll be fun!”

Yancy still looks doubtful and unsure. Lio sidles up to him with a grin.

“Didn’t Bim say there’d be karaoke?” Lio points out, putting his arms around Yancy to pull him into a hug. Yancy sinks into it, casually laying his arms across Lio’s shoulders. He grins despite himself.

“He did say that,” he admits.

“You love karaoke.” Lio bumps his forehead against Yancy’s.

“That’s true.” Yancy leans further into Lio.

“And you’d be keeping me company,” Lio adds.

“Ehhh, you lost me there, doll,” Yancy jokes, though he doesn’t pull out of Lio’s arms or lean away.

“You wound me,” Lio whines with an exaggerated pout, “But I’ll forgive you if you kiss me.”

Yancy chuckles, but Lio doesn’t miss how his eyes brighten with joy. Ever since that first time, Lio’s noticed how much Yancy loves being asked for a kiss, nearly as much as he loves actually kissing.

“When youse put it that way, I guess I gotta, huh?” Yancy says, and true to his word, he kisses Lio slowly and softly. They’re already so close together that Lio hardly has to tilt his head to meet Yancy’s lips.

When they pull away, they stare at each other for a long moment, with subtle smiles on both their faces. Finally, Yancy sighs dramatically.

“Fine, I’ll go with youse,” Yancy relents, “But tell me if I start drinkin’ too much. Youse don’t wanna know how weird I get after a few glasses ’a hooch wine.”

“I’m sure this party’ll have better drinks than that.”

“Oh, that’s a given. I don’t know how much I’ll drink when the stuff actually tastes _good.”_

They both laugh, and begin the wait for nightfall.

~~~

Bim never actually told them _when_ the party was supposed to start, or how late it would go, so Lio and Yancy go to the third floor common room at around nine. They aren’t the first ones there, but there’s still a decent amount of people who haven’t arrived. Bim and Wilford are there as the party planners of course, and Dark is there too, standing in a shadowy corner like a spectre, watching the scene begin to play out. Oliver and Chrome are setting up the karaoke machine on the room’s TV, and Ed and Magnum are already on a couch with beers in hand. The Jims are sneaking around and under the snack tables, not quite hidden by the tablecloths, sometimes darting a hand out to grab a handful of Cheetos or mini-pretzels. But the first one to greet Lio and Yancy is Yandere – well, he greets Yancy, anyway.

“Yan-kun, you came!” he exclaims, hugging him around the shoulders and nearly knocking him down as per usual, “I was worried you might not show; you didn’t seem like a party type to me.”

“I try not to be,” Yancy admits, “But Noisy talked me into it.”

“Oh?” Yandere asks, tilting his head. His eyes are still brown, not dangerous red, but Lio can’t help but feel unnerved. After the fiasco that caused Yancy to run away, Yandere still doesn’t trust Lio with him, and Lio has a feeling he never will.

“I gotta admit, though,” Yancy adds, perhaps to diffuse the tension, “I’m pretty excited for karaoke.”

“Me too!” Yandere says, brightening instantly, “Otouto and Kiiro-kun are almost done setting it up! They can upload any song we want onto it, which is good, ’cuz half the songs I wanna sing aren’t in English.” He shies just a little. “I don’t know if I wanna sing now when there’s less people to hear me if I suck, or later when there’s more to hear me if I sound good. It’s a little embarrassing.”

“Aw, you’ll do great!” Yancy insists, affectionately clapping Yandere’s shoulder, “If you sing anything I know, I’d be glad to back you up.”

Yandere perks up, and the pair start walking to where Chrome and Oliver are finishing up the karaoke machine. Lio lets them go, getting a beer from one of the tables before sitting down with Ed and Magnum.

“There ye are, matey!” Magnum exclaims, clapping Lio on the back. Lio’s glad he hasn’t opened his beer yet; it would’ve spilled for sure. “I’m glad to see ye, and I’m glad ye got Yancy to come along wit’ ye.”

“He couldn’t pass up the chance for karaoke,” Lio laughs.

“Aye, I might give it a try meself,” Magnum muses, “It seems right confoundin’, but I’ve a sea shanty or two to share.”

“It ain’t that hard,” Ed adds from the other couch, taking a swig of beer, “If I get drunk enough, y’all might see me sing somethin’ too.”

“Is that a challenge, matey?” Magnum asks, waggling his eyebrows.

“Why not?” Ed says, “Let’s make a contest out of it. We match each other drink for drink, see if you can get me drunk enough to sing.”

“That’s a bad idea, Ed,” Lio warns, though he’s laughing a little imagining it. He knows Ed doesn’t have a hope of beating Magnum in a drinking contest; the man drinks like a fish, and for how much Lio’s seen him drink in one sitting, he can’t rightly say he’s ever seen Magnum drunk before.

“Deal!” Magnum guffaws, reaching out a hand to shake. Ed takes it, and they shake hands briskly.

“Hey, six feet apart! Social distancing!” calls Dr. Iplier, who apparently just walked in.

“The Host doubts anyone here is sick, Doctor,” Host says from beside him, smiling slightly.

“With how long the incubation period is, we can’t be sure,” Dr. Iplier insists.

“Well, The Host _can_ predict the future, so…”

Dr. Iplier smacks his shoulder.

“Smartass!”

The others who see the exchange laugh, and Lio can already tell this is gonna be a fun party.

~~~

The party starts out tame enough, with a dozen simultaneous conversations, a lot of eating, and a lot less drinking, though Lio suspects that last point will change before long. All the egos seem to be here, but whether some of them actually wanted to come or just came out of peer pressure Lio can’t tell. Predictably, Yancy, Yandere, and MarkBop hog the karaoke machine, but no one else seems to mind. There’s a pool table on one end of the room that a group has gathered around, and a poker table on the other end with a similarly-sized crowd. Dark stays in the corner keeping watch over everyone, but occasionally Wilford and Yandere come over to pester him. For his own part, Lio is content to stay on the couch to chat with anyone who drops by and watch Yancy sing whenever it’s his turn on the karaoke machine.

Yancy’s song choices are pretty predictable; fun, light-hearted show tunes that make Lio wish he could dance. But Yancy dances enough for them both, using the (very small) space around the karaoke machine to great effect, tapping his feet, nodding along, swinging himself around, only stilling to draw attention to the song’s emotional (and often literal) high note.

“Hey, Noisy!” Yancy cries as Yandere helps him find his next song.

“I’m still here, angel,” Lio answers from his seat on the couch.

“This one’s for you!!” Yancy laughs.

“Oh geez,” Lio chuckles, half under his breath.

“How many has that boy had?” Ed asks from across Lio. He hasn’t been here the whole time, but he came over a while ago to check on Eric, who’s currently asleep on Ed’s shoulder.

“Could ask the same about Eric,” Lio retorts with a grin.

“I don’t rightly know if he’s had any drinks at all,” Ed admits. He looks over at Eric, and Lio can see how his gaze softens even through his sunglasses. “Must be past his bedtime. Poor boy’s not the partying type.”

Lio smiles in agreement. Truth be told, he doesn’t think Yancy’s had anything to drink yet either. But singing karaoke seems to have gotten him hyped up, and Lio would be lying if he said he didn’t find it adorable.

The beginning notes of Yancy’s song start to play, and it’s not one that Lio recognizes. Such is the case with many of the songs Yancy’s sung so far, and Lio can never quite guess how they’re going to go. But Yancy is apparently dedicating this one to him, so it must be good. Yancy looks right at Lio, brings the microphone to his lips, and begins.

“You’re just too good to be true,” he sings, swaying lightly to the easygoing tune. “Can’t take my eyes off of you, you’d be like heaven to touch…” He reaches out a hand in Lio’s direction, playful but sincere. “I wanna hold you so much!” He does a theatrical little spin, and Lio can’t help but laugh. “At long last love has arrived, and I thank God I’m alive…” Yancy’s eyes go wistful. “You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.”

Between verses, Yancy leaves the stage and walks to Lio, who’s trying desperately not to fall into helpless giggles. It’s silly and cute but it’s sweet, and as over-the-top as Yancy’s being, Lio doesn’t doubt his sincerity for a moment. When Yancy begins to sing again, he’s right in front of Lio.

“Pardon the way that I stare, there’s nothing else to compare,” Yancy croons, walking around the couch behind Lio. “The sight of you leaves me weak…” He flops himself over the back of the couch, and everyone watching laughs, Lio included. “There are no words left to speak.” He twists himself back around to stand and walk back around, still leaning towards Lio. “So if you feel like I feel, please let me know that it’s real…” He stops just in front of him, close enough that Lio can see all the varied shades of brown in his irises. “You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you…”

Up next is a short musical interlude, and Yancy seems unable to resist giving Lio a peck on the lips before returning to the stage. Someone – probably Wilford – yells for them to get a room, but Lio hardly cares. Yancy’s practically a different man entirely when he’s on a stage, in the best way possible. Though Lio can feel his cheeks heating up, he finds he doesn’t much mind it.

The rest of the song is as heartfelt and dramatic as the beginning, and Lio can’t help but love it. It helps that Yancy continues to sing right to Lio, as if no one else is around at all despite the performance he’s putting on. When it ends, he gets an applause from several egos, especially Lio. Yancy beams as he hands the microphone to Bop – presumably the next one due on the karaoke machine – and walks over to Lio, though he ducks his head just a little and his cheeks are ever-so-slightly pink as Lio stands to meet him.

“D’ya like it?” Yancy asks, sheepish.

“Of course I did, songbird,” Lio replies, pulling Yancy into a hug. “You’re incredible!”

Yancy laughs, squeezing Lio back tight.

“Thanks, doll,” he says, “What should I sing when it’s my turn again?”

“Hell if I know.” Lio shrugs. “We haven’t seen enough musicals together for me to know anything.”

“Enough _yet,_ ” Yancy corrects, grinning.

“Sing somethin’ country,” Ed requests from the couch.

A long pause.

“…Nah,” Yancy finally says, completely deadpan.

Ed sputters and begins to argue the good points of country music as Lio cracks up laughing.

~~~

As the night goes on, more egos start to drink, conversations get louder, and games of poker and pool get more intense. The Jims wreak havoc for an hour after drinking shots before joining Eric in a sleepy pile on the couch. Dark is still in his corner, despite Wilford and Yandere trying to pull him out to dance with them. A group of egos are playing poker, but the real game seems to be between Google and Chrome, who are the only sober ones still at the table. Bing and Oliver, likewise, are simultaneously destroying another group of egos at pool. Even straight-laced Dr. Iplier is giggling and leaning on Host’s shoulder, and normally stoic Host is laughing and getting so handsy that Lio feels the need to look away. Ed is quickly losing his drinking contest with Magnum as he edges past tipsy and Magnum stays unaffected by the alcohol he’s been drinking, just as Lio knew would happen. Lio himself is a bit tipsy at this point, and he doesn’t plan to get any drunker than this. Adventuring and traveling across the world have made him wary of anything that could leave him vulnerable, drinking included.

Yancy, however, has no such qualms about getting drunk. He’s definitely had a few glasses of something by now, Lio doesn’t know what. All he knows is that Yancy is somehow even more hyper and excited than he was earlier in the night. His singing is shoutier and his dancing is less coordinated, but his enthusiasm for karaoke hasn’t changed. Bop by now is too tired from what little he’s drunk to keep singing, but a few other egos have come into the karaoke roster to give it a try. Yandere is still singing, though he only seems capable of Japanese with how much he’s drunk. Yancy is still the best singer in the room by far, and he’s still having a great time.

“Lio!” Yancy cries as he gets ready to sing again, “Dance with me!”

“No way,” Lio laughs from the couch, across from the still-sleeping Eric and Jims, “I’m not as drunk as you, sweetheart.”

“Come oooooon!!” Yancy yells, “It’ll be fun!”

Lio just shakes his head, grinning as the music of Yancy’s song starts to play. For once, it’s a song that Lio recognizes, and he grins even harder as Yancy taps his foot to the opening notes.

“I got chills, they’re multiplyin’,” Yancy croons, “And I’m losing control…’Cause the power you’re supplyin’–” He points right at Lio. “It’s electrifyin’!!” He gives himself a full-body shake, almost falling over.

Lio can’t help but crack up, so much so that he’s surprised to see Yancy right in front of him when he looks up. Yancy goes into the next verse with a huge grin.

“You better shape up, ’cause I need a man,” he sings, playfully swinging his hips, “And my heart is set on you…You better shape up, you better understand,” Yancy leans down to flick Lio’s hat up before continuing, “To my heart, I must be true, nothing left, nothing left for me to do…”

Yancy almost runs out of breath on the last line, reminding Lio that this song is a duet and that Yancy is very drunk. The second point becomes even more obvious when Yancy reaches out and pulls Lio to his feet.

“Dance with me!” he insists.

“Yance!” Lio yelps, but he’s prevented from saying more by Yancy launching into the chorus.

“You’re the one that I want, you are the one I want,” Yancy sings, keeping a hold on Lio’s hand and pulling him closer, “Oo-oo-oo, honey! The one that I want, you are the one I want, oo-oo-oo, honey!” Lio can’t help but laugh, especially when Yancy releases his hand to turn around and shimmy, back against Lio’s chest. “The one that I want, you are the one I want, oo-oo-oo, the one I need…Oh yes, indeed…!”

Yancy keeps Lio standing the whole song, though Lio still mostly ends up watching Yancy dance around him. Even drunk and half-shouting the words, Yancy still sounds great to Lio, and he can’t help but be endeared. When the song ends, he gets an ovation from nearly the whole room, and bows so low he almost falls on his head. He laughs as Lio helps him up and kisses him the moment he’s steady on his feet.

“Woah,” Lio chuckles.

“D’ya have fun?” Yancy asks.

“Yeah,” Lio admits, “You’re a wild one with a few drinks, huh?”

“Youse ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Yancy says, poking Lio’s cheek. “I left my drink somewhere. Lemme…” He wanders away, presumably to find the aforementioned drink.

Lio chuckles again and shakes his head fondly. He remembers before the party, when Yancy said Lio wouldn’t like him drunk. But so far, drunk Yancy is a treat; loud and excitable but still as sweet and fun as ever.

What could possibly go wrong?

~~~

The night wears on, and the egos who aren’t already passed out get even more drunk.

Lio watches everyone around him with equal parts amusement and concern. Ed’s finally gotten drunk enough to sing something for karaoke, and his rendition of “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” has the egos diving for cover. But Magnum decides to sing as well, despite not being nearly as drunk as anyone else, and his lively sea shanty lifts everyone’s spirits. Dark remains apart from the action like usual, though he’s caught between consoling Yandere (who, it turns out, is an extremely emotional drunk) and reigning in Wilford (who, unsurprisingly, is even more wild and unhinged than usual). The egos are too drunk for poker and pool so they’re now eating all the snacks, lazing about on the couch, or carrying on drunken conversations with one another.

“How are you still sober, dude?” Bing asks Lio. He’s sitting beside Bop, who’s asleep on his shoulder. “I’ve never seen anybody but Dark get this far into the night while not being totally smashed.”

“I don’t drink much,” Lio answers with a shrug, “And I’m sort of glad, to be honest.” Bing grins.

“Yeah, it’s kinda fun to just watch shit go down,” Bing laughs, “And not have to be in it yourself.”

“Well, that might not be totally true,” Lio says, looking over to the other set of couches.

Yancy is there, talking to a group of egos. Rather, they all seem to be talking over each other. The main talkers seem to be Yancy and The Host, while others only chime in here and there. The Host is gesticulating wildly, somehow without jostling a sleepy Dr. Iplier off his lap. But Yancy is the most animated of all, and the loudest, too. Lio is thinking this is what Yancy meant before about being a bad drunk. He’s no longer singing karaoke, and neither is anyone else. Instead, Yancy is shouting over everyone and gesturing even more than Host, nearly hitting the people around him on multiple occasions. He doesn’t seem to have any filter, either, saying whatever pops into his head regardless of how rude it might be.

“I’m gonna go sit with Yance,” Lio tells Bing, “I have a feeling something’s gonna happen.”

“Go ahead, dude,” Bing replies, giving a peace sign as Lio gets up.

When Lio sits down next to Yancy and across from the other egos in the conversation, Yancy pauses to grin at Lio.

“Heyyy, dollface,” Yancy laughs, once again too loudly.

“Hey, jailbird,” Lio chuckles anyway, “How goes it here?”

“G – hic – ood,” Yancy says, “Peaches.”

“You mean peachy?”

“Sure.”

“You’re a peach, Yance.”

“Nooooo! I’m not a fuckin’ – hic – fuckin’ peach!!”

Lio can’t help but laugh and hug Yancy, who immediately whines and squirms.

“Lemme go, ya low-rent Indiana,” Yancy grumbles. Lio can’t bring himself to be offended.

“Yancy should, he should,” Host begins, laughing between words as his narration fights his inebriation, “Yancy should take a page out of…of Dr. Iplier’s book and, fucking, just chill out.” He laughs again to himself. “Heh, page and book. ’Cause…you know.”

Lio has to admit it’s pretty funny to see the normally serious and quiet Host acting so ridiculous.

“Hey,” Yancy yells back to Host, “I been…I gotta question.”

“What?” Host asks.

“Youse fuckin’, you write and shit, right?”

“Yeah, Host – hic – does.”

“Yance,” Lio interjects, seeing where Yancy’s going, but Yancy ignores him.

“How do you write if you, like, if youse eyes are all…all like fucked up?”

A chill settles over the evening, but Lio thinks only he can feel it. Him and Host, whose sightless gaze somehow sharpens, and his drunken smile quiets slightly.

“Yancy has no idea…” Host laughs, but it’s not the joyful laugh he had before. “No fucking idea how fucking…The Host can see more than, than Yancy’s greaser ass ever will. He even, he can control what he fuckin’ sees, because he can make things _change._ Does Yancy really wanna be a comedian about it?”

“I mean, alright, drama queen,” Yancy chuckles.

“Who’s a drama queen?” Host asks sharply, suddenly standing, sending a half-asleep Dr. Iplier off his lap and onto the floor with a yelp. “Isn’t Yancy…didn’t you fuckin’ bail in the middle of the night because, ’cause your crush didn’t like you back??”

Dr. Iplier slowly gets off the floor, dazed but immediately aware of the tension in the room. The other egos look at each other, most with confusion. That piece of information was something that Lio didn’t realize Host knew, and apparently, no one else outside of Yancy’s circle knew either. Chances are they’ll forget it in the morning with how drunk they are, but Yancy doesn’t seem to know that or care. His expression twists into rage, his face turns red. Lio turns to him and grabs his arm, trying to soothe. Dr. Iplier, in turn, scrambles to diffuse The Host. A crowd begins to gather around them.

“Alright, okay, let’s just calm – hic – calm down,” Dr. Iplier says, looking nervously between Host and Yancy.

“Yancy–” Lio starts, wanting to talk him down, but Yancy stands immediately, pulling his arm out of Lio’s loose hold.

“Youse wanna say that again?” Yancy asks, stepping forward, “Youse wanna keep talkin’ shit??”

“You think you’re tough?” Host asks in return, grinning devilishly, “You think you even have a fucking chance at taking me down?”

“Okay, okay, okay, okay,” Dr. Iplier frets, getting in the middle of the angry egos and jumping back and forth between them, hands out, desperate to calm things down and avoid a fight. Some egos watching murmur in fear, others whoop and try to egg Yancy and Host on.

“Yancy, chill out,” Lio hisses, “You’re both drunk and saying things neither of you mean, you need to be the bigger man here.”

“Oh, I’ll be the bigger man, alright,” Yancy scoffs, pushing past Dr. Iplier to get right in Host’s face. “I’ll be the bigger man once I’ve laid youse out, how about that??” He puts his hands up, ready to fight.

“You’re pathetic,” Host cackles. There’s suddenly a baseball bat in his hand, one that Lio could swear wasn’t there a moment ago. “I’m going to fucking erase your bloodline.”

“Try it, no-eyes,” Yancy spits.

Yancy rears back to punch, and Host hefts his bat over his head, and Lio and Dr. Iplier are powerless to stop them. Everything freezes. Time slows down.

But no, Lio realizes, time hasn’t changed, nothing is frozen. Only Host and Yancy are frozen, paused before they can follow through on their blows. Their expressions melt into confusion. They both make efforts to move, to shake off whatever’s stopped their fight, but they can only twitch. Looking closer, Lio can see black tendrils wrapped around Yancy and Host’s arms, keeping them locked in place. His eyes widen as the chill he’s been feeling seems to pervade the whole room. Host, Yancy, Dr. Iplier, and all the gathered egos look towards the source of the miasma. Lio turns to see Dark standing just outside the gathered group, eyes blazing with more fury than Host and Yancy had combined. His posture is as impeccable as ever, with both hands up to control the tendrils of his aura.

“That’s _enough,_ ” he snarls, voice deep and resonant, “If either one of you so much as lays a finger on the other, you’ll be paying a visit to the void. Behave or be punished. Understood?”

“Fuckin’…I guess…” Yancy grumbles, his usual fear of Dark buried under his drunkenness.

Host merely mutters something sharp, angry, and inaudible to himself.

Dark releases them with a flick of his hands, but stays watching. Host and Yancy almost fall over, their struggles to move finally working more than they intended. Dr. Iplier, now seemingly sobered up, goes to Host’s side to hold his arm and walk him out of the room. Lio can hear him muttering as they leave.

“Host, you idiot, you know better, that was so uncalled for, you’re way too drunk, you need to go to bed…”

Dark turns and leaves to go to his corner, apparently satisfied, and the gathered egos disperse as the tension lifts from the room. Yancy sways where he stands; not in danger of falling, but too drunk to stand up straight.

“Fuckin’ dickhead,” Yancy mutters, “Next time I’ll put ’im on his ass, youse just wait.”

“Like hell you will,” Lio snaps, “Don’t you remember how powerful Host is?? He would’ve destroyed you. I can’t believe you insulted him like that.”

“He was a – hic – bastard to me too!!” Yancy protests, “Asshole fuckin’…youse remember.”

“I do remember.” Lio takes Yancy’s hand and squeezes gently. “That wasn’t right, either. But that doesn’t mean you can fight him, much less fight him and win.”

Yancy whines. The anger seems to have evaporated, leaving something like sadness.

“That all…that all sucked real hard. I don’t wanna leave no more.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Lio kisses Yancy’s cheek. “You don’t have to.”

“Fuckin’…quaran–…quar–…core…corn…stayin’ inside all the time.”

“Your tracker, too, but sure,” Lio replies, smiling just a little.

“Oh yeah.” Yancy pulls away from Lio as he thinks, before grimacing. “Fuckin’ Dark.” He wanders away and kicks the karaoke machine as hard as he can.

Fortunately, no one was using it, and no one else seems to notice but Chrome, who glowers at the dent Yancy’s foot made, knowing he’ll have to fix it. Lio grins sheepishly in apology and consoles Yancy, who’s limped back to Lio to whine about his now-aching foot.

~~~

Before Lio knows it, the night grows long and the party winds down. The room never quite recovers from the altercation between Yancy and Host, and eventually even the hardest-partying egos seem to tire, or at least get bored. At some point Lio dozes off, and he wakes in time to see the party finally end as everyone leaves for their rooms.

Bim and Wilford leave together, laughing and clinging to each other’s shoulders, hardly walking in a straight line, and Silver and King do much the same. Bing scoops Bop off the couch he’s been sleeping on to take him to his room, and Oliver does the same with both Jims, one in each arm. Ed, though quite drunk and very tired, manages to carry Eric out of the room without waking him, though Lio fears he might drop him on his way to bed. Even Dark leaves, apparently knowing that the few remaining egos are too tired to start anything. He disappears in a puff of smoke, taking Yandere, who’s asleep in his arms, with him. Magnum seems to be the only one still eager to party, but he’s eventually told off and forced to leave to his room by Google. Plus apparently ran out of battery at some point in the night, and Chrome mutters over him about how inconvenient it’ll be to take him back to the control room and how he still has to fix the karaoke machine.

Speaking of the machine, Yancy is sitting on it, swaying and singing something quiet and slightly off-key to himself.

Lio leaves the couch to walk over to Yancy, but Yancy’s practically in his own little world. He doesn’t appear to notice Lio approach, not even when he sits on his knees to be on Yancy’s level. Yancy’s eyes are half-closed as he sings, still swaying like a stalk of wheat in a field. His voice is quiet and rough and not very polished, but there’s some nice quality to it that makes Lio listen for a few moments.

“This is a man who thinks with his heart, his heart is not always wise,” Yancy half-sings, half-mumbles, “This is a man who stumbles and falls, but this is a man who tries…”

Lio’s never heard this song before, and the words give him pause. It’s pretty clear Yancy’s not singing about himself.

“This is a man you'll forgive and forgive, and help protect, as long as you live…” Yancy’s voice gives out too soon on the last long note, and he coughs a little before continuing. “He may not always say what you would have him say, but now and then he'll say something wonderful…”

Lio’s heart drops ever-so-slightly. There’s no doubt who Yancy’s singing about now.

“The thoughtless things he'll do will hurt and worry you,” Yancy sings, voice quiet and wistful, “Then all at once he'll do something wonderful…He has a thousand dreams that won't come true, you know that he believes in them and that's enough for you…”

 _“Is that what you think of us?”_ Lio can’t help but think as he listens to Yancy sing. He isn’t sure how to feel about it, how seriously he should take it. Especially not when Yancy starts to smile a little through his song, wistful and gentle.

“You'll always go along, defend him when he's wrong, and tell him when he's strong, he is wonderful…” Yancy takes a breath, seemingly gearing up for the last grand notes. “He'll always need your love, and so he'll get your love…the man who needs your love can be wonderful…”

Once again, he botches the last note partway through, this time with a hiccup. He grumbles something annoyed and incomprehensible. Then he finally notices Lio, looking up and meeting his eyes. He stops swaying, instead slouching towards Lio.

“Oh, hey doll,” he says, too drunk to be embarrassed. Despite the words he just sang, his eyes on Lio have no hint of hurt or resentment, only love.

Not for the first time, Lio gets the momentary jolt of worry that Yancy loves Lio too much more than Lio loves him back. Lio loves Yancy, he wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it, but he did plenty of thoughtless things before he figured it out. He still wonders how much of Yancy’s heart he deserves.

But three in the morning after a rager is not the time to be contemplating those concerns. There’s always morning, and for now, Lio should focus on getting Yancy off the karaoke machine and into bed for some sleep. He can’t help but grin at Yancy’s dopey lovestruck eyes.

“Hey, honey,” Lio answers, “I’m thinking it’s time to turn in for the night. The party’s pretty much over.”

“Aw, really?” Yancy mumbles, frowning. He looks around, and apparently notices for the first time how empty the room is, aside from the lingering Googles. “Oh…I guess so.” He stays sitting.

“C’mon,” Lio laughs, taking Yancy’s arms, “Let’s get outta here.” He pulls Yancy up, and Yancy nearly falls into him, legs melting underneath him. Lio hooks an arm around Yancy to hold him up, and they manage to walk like that, leaving the room and traveling to the elevator with Lio doing most of the work. He sure doesn’t trust Yancy on the stairs, whose legs are still jello as he giggles at nothing, head lolling on Lio’s shoulder. One of his arms is holding onto Lio for support, and as the pair wait for the elevator, Yancy’s other arm goes to Lio’s chest, his hand nearly slapping Lio there.

“Ouch,” Lio says, chuckling. It didn’t really hurt, but it definitely had more force than Yancy was aiming for.

“Hey baby, y’ever,” Yancy starts, words stumbling but trying to sound suave, grinning lazily, “Y’ever…ever fucked in an el’vator before?”

“Uh,” Lio starts, taken aback, “Can’t say I have. Why?”

“Youse wanna…” The elevator’s doors open, and Yancy quiets to focus on moving as Lio half-carries him into the empty carriage and presses the button for their floor. “You wanna try it?”

“Yance,” Lio says, half-stern, half-disbelieving. Yancy’s hand, still on Lio’s chest, curls into Lio’s shirt as Yancy pulls himself closer, lips by Lio’s ear.

“Real quick, dollface, c’mon,” Yancy murmurs, before kissing at Lio’s neck, trying to rile him up.

“Hey, no, none of that,” Lio tells him firmly, twisting his neck away from Yancy. He can’t very well push him away without letting him go, and he doesn’t want Yancy to fall. “You’re so drunk you can’t walk, we’re not going there tonight.”

“We haven’ gone there _ever,_ ” Yancy grumbles as the elevator opens on the pair’s floor, “C’mooooon, Noisy, if not…not in the el’vator then, then…somewhere!”

They haven’t slept together yet, that much is true. But like hell Lio would have this be their first time, with Yancy so drunk he might not even remember it come morning. Not even Yancy’s persistent, messy neck kisses are coming close to changing Lio’s mind.

“No,” Lio repeats, “You’re way too drunk, just look at yourself.”

“I _need_ you, Nois!” Yancy whines.

“You _need_ to sleep this off,” Lio retorts, “I’m taking you to your room and that’s that.”

Yancy grumbles to himself for a few moments, but makes no effort to escape Lio’s hold or try to change course to Lio’s room. Before long, Lio is shouldering open Yancy’s bedroom door and walking him inside. Yancy is quiet as Lio sits him on the edge of the bed to get his shoes off, and Lio wonders if he’s already falling asleep. But he speaks after Lio gets off his first shoe.

“If we’re not…not gonna…” Yancy makes a strange gesture.

“Yes?” Lio prompts, starting on Yancy’s other shoe.

“Can youse still…still stay here? Sleep w’ me?” Yancy asks. “Not…not in a sexy way, jus’…y’know.”

“Yance…” Lio begins, stern, as he pulls off Yancy’s second shoe.

“Pleeeeeease?” Yancy whines.

Lio makes the mistake of looking up at Yancy and seeing his puppy eyes. They’re formidable anyway, but they’re made even sadder and more pathetic by the drunken glaze over them. Yancy’s puppy eyes always make him look like he’s going to cry, but given how drunk he is, Lio fears that Yancy might actually start bawling if Lio says no.

Also, even though Lio wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of Yancy, he has to admit that sleeping cuddled beside him doesn’t sound bad at all.

“You promise no funny business?” Lio asks, doing his best to convey seriousness. Yancy visibly perks up.

“Yeah,” he insists, “Jus’ sleeping. Tha’s all.” Helping his case is that he already looks like he’s seconds from nodding off.

“Alright, fine,” Lio sighs, trying not to grin when Yancy lets out a gleeful little cheer.

“C’mere,” Yancy mumbles, smiling blissfully, holding his arms out for Lio to hold him.

“Just a second, I have to take my shoes off and we have to actually get in bed first.”

“Lioooooo…”

“Give me two minutes, you big baby.”

“‘M not a baby!”

“If you say so, baby.”

Yancy grumbles for a little while, but quiets once Lio has gotten them both tucked into bed. The room is already dark, with only moonlight through the window to see with. True to his word, Yancy wraps himself around Lio like a koala but does nothing more, falling asleep almost immediately. Lio chuckles quietly to himself and hugs Yancy back, leaving one hand free to stroke his hair.

“Goodnight, my songbird,” Lio murmurs, kissing Yancy’s forehead, “I love you so much, but I think that’s enough partying for a while.”

Lio can’t say he regrets the night, though. At the very least it managed to kill his boredom, and any time spent with Yancy is good enough for him.

Lio lets his eyes close and soon joins Yancy in sleep, still holding Yancy against his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the songs Yancy sings, in order with the musicals they're from, in case you wanted to know:
> 
> Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - Jersey Boys  
> You're The One That I Want - Grease  
> Something Wonderful - The King & I
> 
> If you can, leave a kudos or a comment if you liked this, I love getting feedback from you guys <3


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